As shown in Fig. (2A), the mRNA levels of Tnf, Aif1 (to assess microglia activation), Cd3e (to assess T lymphocyte infiltration) and Gfap (to assess astroglia activation) were significantly increased following EAE induction in both mouse genotypes (Cd3e: Ctrl-WT vs. EAE-WT, p <0.05; Ctrl-HE vs. EAE-HE, p <0.01; Gfap: Ctrl-WT vs. EAE-WT, p <0.001; Ctrl-HE vs. EAE-HE, p <0.001; Aif1: Ctrl-WT vs. EAE-WT, p <0.01; Ctrl-HE vs. EAE-HE, p <0.01; Tnf: Ctrl-WT vs. EAE-WT, p <0.05; Ctrl-HE vs. EAE-HE, p <0.01). This evidence concerns the gene TNF and hereditary elliptocytosis.